Music artists from all over the U.S. and beyond will perform at Backwoods Music Festival this weekend, but a number of Okies will also be in the mix. In the midst of the fest's sensory smorgasbord, it can be difficult to know if the performer one is enjoying is local, regional, national, or even international. Well over 100 music acts are slated to play Backwoods, so it may surprise attendees that about 1/6 of them are homegrown talents, sharing stages with the likes of ﻿Big Gigantic﻿ and Nahko and Medicine for the People. This unofficial guide serves to point out those Oklahoma artists.

This post in particular looks at Friday's lineup by stage. For the other two days, click through the buttons above.

FRIDAY

KIID H4WK - 6:15 pm

Tulsa's own KIID H4WK has opened for major names in DJ music like Skrillex, Zed's Dead, and DJ Mustard. With big, dubstep-influenced EDM beats and flashy production, his original mixes keep audiences kinetically engaged during live sets.

His most recent remix of Kill the Noise's "I Do Coke" has garnered tens of thousands of plays in the past month since it was released on Soundcloud.

He'll rock the Diskoportal stage, which features a 360 degree lotus flower design complete with pyrotechnics and a giant disco ball.

Joe Mack - 12:00 pm

From Tahlequah, OK hails Joe Mack, a long-standing multi-instrumentalist who uniquely blends genres in engaging live performances. His knowledge of composition combines with looping pedal skills to extend his masterful guitar work beyond the scope of itself into enthusiastic one-man-band territory.

His fusion of diverse genres shows in his most recent single, "Ever Any Nothing," which borrows heavily from current trends in EDM to create something distinctly original.

Catch him at the Kumbaya venue, which provides a laid-back campfire aesthetic.

JoeMyside and The Sorrow - 1:30 pm

Tulsa-based JoeMyside and The Sorrow offers upbeat tunes that incorporates flavors of punk and country for a unique rock sound. The four-piece plays traditional rock instruments, so that twist comes specifically from the way the group writes its original songs. Playing an early set on Friday, these guys will get the party started right at the campfire-themed Kumbaya stage.

The Young Vines - 6:30 pm

The Young Vines of Tulsa, OK are an indie rock group that builds soul-stirring mid-tempo atmospheres from a lean setup. The quartet proved their arrangement chops and songwriting know-how on last year's Run Away EP.

With guitar, bass, and drums, the band will take the large, castle-themed Motherland venue, which promises an abundance of lighting effects to enhance the band's indie rock vibes.

Side Stages

Blake O the DJ - 2:45 pm @ The Island

Oklahoma City's Blake O is a metro mainstay of the DJ scene. His in-demand style of entertainment has put him in the OK Gazette Best of OKC finals year after year. He also makes a point to not rely on laptop technology, a characteristic the shows his studio musician background and integrity. Last week, he put out a sunny new original single on iTunes called "Right Here".

Blake will be spending the full weekend spinning for swimmers at The Island, a stage that stands in the middle of Backwoods' lake area.

PVLMS - 11:45 pm @ Elevate VIP Lounge

From Norman, OK comes PVLMS, an electronic duo that has been enthusiastically featured in publications ranging from local print circulations like the Oklahoma Gazette to national online tastemakers like Earmilk.

With its generally chilled out approach to electronic music, PVLMS will fit nicely with the exclusive VIP Lounge of Backwoods, which is an access-only area with an intimate stage.

Norman-based experimental artist Sun Riah will hit the road next month with her harp, effects pedals, and a number of new song compositions in tow. With a focus on the Washington, Oregon, and California areas, she will take her hypnotic solo show to 20 cities over the course of three weeks in September and October.

The West Coast will get a taste of the sophomore full-length Sun Riah has in the works, a project about which Cellar Door Music Group dropped early details back in May.

The autumn tour kicks off in Norman at The Deli on Monday, September 19th, at 10 pm. The bill will also feature up-and-coming indie rockers Haniwa and prolific psych-folk band Anvil Salute.

Singles Grab Bag features reviews for recent singles in a local sampling of various genres. Specifically, this fourth installment looks at synthrock, lo-fi acoustic, pop, rap, and experimental music.

"Future Escape" by Softaware

This second teaser track follows the band's stellar lead single from last month, "Tender", which concluded on the proclamation of "We wanna feel good" as synthrock fireworks punctuated the mix. "Future Escape" picks up where that song left off, further exploring the same themes of intimacy in the modern age in an encounter behind closed doors. As if to directly echo "Tender," its chorus questions, "It's so good / How could we forget?"

Draped along the smooth keyboards, soft guitars, and sturdy drums, the vocals begin in a solo male voice but are joined later by a female vocalist. The musical choices continue to draw conceptual parallels in a bridge that features dreamy saxophone and a foreign language dialogue sample. Both were once more prevalent tropes in sensual shorthand, and Softaware is keenly aware of this.

Spearheaded by electronic meistro Colin Nance, Softaware is something of a concept band, a project that recognizes the emptiness in the ongoing retro, vaporwave trend in music. While many bands use the sound with a sense of surface-level irony or self-awareness, Softaware draws from that retro aesthetic to recall a time when intimate human connection was less ambiguous and ran deeper. There is similarly more depth to the band's songs, and it all makes for an incisive view of art, society, and the 21st Century.

The boys also just know how to make great music. To hear more of it, pick up the full-length album Networks, which releases tomorrow. It will be available for download, streaming, and limited edition cassette, the trifecta of which couldn't be more appropriate.

It takes a verse or two of perceived normalcy before "Serial Love" reveals that it's written in character, specifically that of a psychopathic kidnapper. Its sinister concept doesn't ever supplant the love song's smitten tone, however, and that is the key to why it succeeds so well in melding with the 90s alternative pop rock that Edmond-based Daniel Eischeid creates.

Over a feel-good melody, the opening line sets that tone, reminiscing that "It all started with a mystery on the night you blew a kiss to me." As the story plays out, the narrator takes his love interest home...forever. The lyrics drop details about how this person now lives locked in his basement, hinting perhaps at even death, but those are explained away by moments like the strained "I love you" in the song's bridge.

"Serial Love" appears on his new album, Surreal Killers, as a full band recording, but it's just as sonically rough around the edges as his initial version, which features only guitar and overdubbed vocals. Perhaps it's a matter of personal preference, but the acoustic singer-songwriter feel of the first version feels more attuned to the isolated perspective of the song's narrator and is the version linked below.

Hot on the trends of pop radio hits, this catchy lead single from SALLI's freshly-dropped EP XLIV is as slick and fine-tuned as the car referenced in the song. Trigger phrases like "keys in the ignition" and "put that foot on the pedal," combined with the specific use of bass in the first verse, give "Roll" the feeling of a joyriding anthem. That's not actually what it's about, though.

On closer listen, other phrases like "If you need me, I'm closed today" crop up and resonate with the chorus, which asks the subject to "roll away from me." All of this is voiced to a specific guy, not the world at large, which keeps it from coming off as antisocial and occasionally finds mild traces of empowerment along the way. But this isn't really what it's about, either.

"Roll" is, more than anything, about a strong beat, a good hook, and big production. Make no mistake; this is a radio hit, whether it makes it that far or not. It is stylistically on the crest of 2016's wave of EDM-influenced pop music, thanks in large part to the carefully tailored sonic choices from the studio. Like most songs in this vein, it gets more infectious with every listen.

"Don't Be So Koi, Fish" by ZuneAfish

This one-off rap plays like a side note, using a minute of its 1:45 runtime to fire a round of smart rhymes and leaving the rest to indulgent speech samples at either end. For its offhanded presentation, however, "Don't Be So Koi, Fish" is stuffed with slick lyrics, painted by a sample that features a low warble in a minor key.

The opening line showcases some internal rhyming: "I try hard not to make it look all suspicious / Because walkin' through walls is breakin' the laws of physics." ZuneAfish proceeds to dish out tightly-wound stream-of-conscious topics. There is plenty of boasting, as is expected for the genre, but his frequent references to mythology and science are an interesting angle that begs repeat listens.

When the rap segues into the closing sample, a dialogue exchange from the film Kick-Ass, it feels more like a midpoint to a fuller track. It's somewhat jarring when it ends, but that's a positive reflection on the entrancing nature of "Don't Be So Koi, Fish".

"The Going Prayer" by Annie Ellicott

This impressive experiment in unsettling whimsy combines thin ukulele and jittery percussion with haunting undercurrents of organ, providing a moody soundscape that artfully sets the tone for Annie Ellicott's unorthodox vocal arrangements. The opening verse alone has two voices softly singing over each other. Sharing different lines of thought, their notes wander independently for a spell before meeting in unison on a key phrase that plays into the song's oceanic meditation on passing from this life to the next.

Ellicott goes on to meld nonverbal vocal arrangements with the track's off-kilter ambience for a good stretch before coming around to a conclusion. The meandering comes more from the song's tone than from its structure, and this is further conveyed by its dreamy use of steel guitar that slips in midway through "The Going Prayer".

This recording has actually been floating in cyberspace for nearly two years, but next month, it will be finally be available as the opening track on Ellicott's full-length album, Lonesome Goldmine. In the meantime, check out the music video for the single below.

Since its kickoff in May, Guthrie's inaugural run of Red Brick Nights has proven to be not only popular, but also a meaningful outgrowth of and for the community. The gathering of live music, food trucks, and merchants, which happens every first Saturday of the month, echoes other events in the metro such as LIVE! on the Plaza and Exchange on Film Row. What sets it apart, though, is its focus on presenting music in a laid back, small town environment.

Located in downtown Guthrie and sponsored by the city itself, Red Brick Nights combines the bustle of a town square with a welcoming, almost familial air, and the music is a large contributor to that feeling.

Event organizer and Guthrie native Justin Fortney has smartly scouted bands that best blend Oklahoma's friendly reputation and impressive talent. With half of its six planned installments in the books, the concert series has already seen memorable performances from Beau Jennings and the Tigers, Kyle Reid and the Low Swinging Chariots, and Sherree Chamberlain, to name a few.

"The bands have been phenomenal," Fortney said in an email. "The audiences have been so attentive and gracious."

Tomorrow's event will be headlined by Travis Linville, a folk music veteran whom Fortney characterizes as "a musical legend in Oklahoma. So many great Oklahoma musicians are making high quality music now, and Travis’ fingerprints are all over so much of it."

Linville will be supported by Massey, a folk rock act boasting "beautiful arrangements with lovely melody and harmony," and Oklahoma Uprising, a band fronted by the town's own "Woody Guthrie troubadour," Joel Mosman.

Tomorrow's music block begins at 7 pm, but there is plenty to do ahead of time to help settle in. Starting at 5, food trucks will offer a variety of meals, and a collection of pop-up shops and non-profit booths will be ready for browsing. Additional activities are planned for nearby spaces such as Tap Room 223 and Rick's Fine Chocolates and Coffees.

Last month's Red Brick Nights coincided with town's 4th of July weekend celebration and saw a record turnout. Where that event happened at the intersection of Wentz and Oklahoma, with musicians performing in front of the town's iconic Double Stop Fiddle Shop, August's edition will be moved to 2nd and Harrison.

"It'll have a little bit different vibe," Fortney said, "but that's the great thing about downtown Guthrie...there are so many spots aesthetically that lend themselves as backdrops to stuff." He also describes the atmosphere as being "like a bunch of friends hanging out on someone's very large front porch listening to music and spending time with friends."

The "friend circle" of Red Brick Nights is a broad one. The city's unique location sees folks coming in from Norman and Oklahoma City all the way to Stillwater. Because of the wide mix, it's telling that the series still manages to feel like a close-knit community. Certainly the music plays a role in this, but there is also much to be said for Guthrie itself.

"It feels good to put roots down in a place like this," Fortney said. "The architecture, the walkability, the miniature urban downtown…all that lends itself to me feeling like I’ve stumbled upon a special home."

Red Brick Nights, then, is perhaps the biggest open house in the state, and it's one that the organizers hope will welcome visitors for years to come.